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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: season · hand · tear · lean · capital · branch · wave · toast

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. capital — a city
  3. tear — from crying
  4. branch — a division
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — in cards
  8. lean — thin
  9. lean — to bend
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. season — in sport
  15. tear — to rip
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. capital — money
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. tear — from crying
  21. toast — bread
  22. hand — help
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. wave — of the sea

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com